Chapter 2

"You hit her. That's crossing the line."

Cody's voice turned cold.

"Apologize to Bianca now and pay her ten grand for what you did. Then we'll consider the matter settled."

I stared at him for a moment before laughing in disbelief.

"Don Cody... you're seriously asking me to apologize to her and pay her?"

His face darkened.

Meg quickly tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "Phoebe, don't push this. Bianca is Mr. Modine's daughter. You can't afford to offend her. And Don Cody is counting on the Modine Family to back our next territory deal."

I let out a cold laugh.

"So she says Wesley Modine is her father, and everyone just believes her? Did anyone even verify who she was before letting her into the Family?"

Meg hesitated, then pulled out her phone and opened Bianca's social media.

"It's real. Mr. Modine personally brought her here on her first day."

I looked at the photo and nearly dropped my jaw.

There was my uncle, dressed in one of his usual immaculate suits, standing beside a black luxury car.

And right next to him was Bianca.

She had even posted a caption beneath it.

[Thanks, Dad, for taking time out of your busy schedule to bring me here. I promise I won't let you down.]

I immediately called my uncle.

The call didn't go through.

Seeing that I still refused to apologize, Bianca shot me a vicious smile.

"Phoebe, don't regret this. I'll make sure you pay for it."

The next day, she kept her word.

At the Moretti Family's monthly gathering, the promotion and seventy-thousand-dollar cut that should have been mine were handed to Bianca.

They hadn't even bothered to change the presentation properly.

My name was still on the screen when Bianca walked up to accept the honor.

My blood boiled.

This wasn't favoritism anymore.

They were stealing my work in front of everyone.

I stood up immediately.

"How exactly are Family contributions being judged now?"

Every eye in the room turned toward me.

"The deals I handled this month brought more than a hundred million dollars through Moretti businesses and tens of millions in profit. I brought in five million more than the next highest earner."

I looked directly at the men seated at the head table.

"Bianca hasn't closed a single deal since she arrived. So I'd like someone here to explain why my promotion and my cut are being given to her."

The room went completely silent.

The men responsible for the Family's books and business operations exchanged uneasy looks, but neither dared answer.

Bianca leaned back in her chair, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Because everyone knows your deals weren't exactly clean."

Her lips curled into a mocking smile.

"The Family can't reward a woman for using cheap tricks to bring money in. Right now, we're only taking away your promotion and your cut. Keep damaging the Moretti name with your filthy methods, and next time you'll lose your place in the Family entirely."

My hands trembled with anger.

I looked across the head table.

These were the same men who had praised my instincts, toasted my deals, and told me I had a future in the Family.

Now every one of them avoided my eyes.

Finally, I looked at Cody.

"Don Cody. Is this your decision too?"

Being challenged in front of everyone clearly irritated him.

He frowned.

"Phoebe, the Family has its reasons. Don't ruin an important gathering over something this small. Learn to see the bigger picture."

"The bigger picture?"

My eyes burned as I stared at him.

"So I spend an entire year working for this Family, staying up until midnight balancing accounts, negotiating deals, and cleaning up problems no one else wants to touch, only for someone else to take everything I earned?"

I pointed toward Bianca.

"She throws out one baseless accusation, and suddenly all my work means nothing. And every person sitting up there is willing to pretend that's reasonable?"

My voice shook with fury.

"Tell me something. Where's the fairness in that? Where's the honor? After everything I've brought into this Family, does none of it matter?"

Cody had no answer.

Bianca, however, didn't look ashamed in the slightest.

She lifted her chin and smiled at me.

"Fairness?"

She gave a quiet, contemptuous laugh.

"Phoebe, don't be so naive. In our world, the people with power decide what's fair."